Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-12-24
AMERICAN LAW.
Judge John F. Dillon on What Has Beer
Accomplished During the Century.

Accomplished EuripS thc SentuIy'
MoNrIcELLo, Ala, December 18TH
The Alabama State Bar Association met
here to-day The annual address was de-
livered by Judge John +. Dillon, of New
York. He said as this was the centennial
wear of the adoption of the Federal Con-
stitution, he had selected as his subject
Z" A Century of American Law" After a
retrospect OF the general situation, and
coming TO view of the condition of Eng
lish and American law one hundred years
ago, he said it was at that time faithfully
mirrored in Blackstones Commentaries,
the first completed edition of which was
published Just six years before the Ameri-
can Revolution After adverting to the
baneful effects of the feudal system upon
the English law, part of which only we
had escaped, he noticed the following
changes upon subjects of general and per-
manent Importance: Within the century
Imprisonment for debt had been abol-
ished in both Great Britain and Amer
lea, and America had led the way. By
way of contrast he alluded to the modern
liberal exemption and homestead laws of
the several States and of the national Gov
eminent Under the beneficial operation
vi illC 4LtiSA AT lIlbiS lIltll4 4bb,Nbb,NOp
acres of land had been entered by $50 900
| heads of families. He next adverted to
the great and beneficial changes made
within the last fifty years, in respect of the
rights of married women. The principle
of American married women's protective
Acts was in 1870 and 1882 adopted by the
English Parliament Referring to the
criminal laws of England one hundred
years ago, he showed at that time near
| two hundred otienses were capital felonies,
and that the laws were otherwise oppress-
i've and severe. They have been gradually
ameliorated so at this time only four
ofienses are capitally punishable in Eng
| land and only two in this country. He
noticed the abolition of the common law
forms of action, and of pleadings and the
changes made by the codes of procedure in
this country and by the British Judicature
Act of 1873 adopting the principle of the
American codes as among the most salu-
tary forms of the law. lamentations il
the law Of evidence, by which all persons
including parties to the suit, have been
made competent witnesses, were regarded
as Il great improvement in legal administra-
ton, in which England had led the way
and we had followed. The growth of cor
porations and corporate litigation was
dwelt upon at length and statistics given
showing that nearly one-half of the mod,
ern reported cases involve corporation law
He next traced the growth of the legal lit
erature in this country. a century age
we had no American laws. In 1886 we had
published 3,7S9 volumes of reports against
5000 in England. Turning to the century
to come, he predicted various changes in
international and municipal law, among
which would be the abolition of literary
piracy and systematic restatement of the
body of our laws. He appealed to young
men to take up this great work, and con-
cluded by saying: "Mayhap some young
man hears me to-day, gifted beyond the
common lot, with an eye couched to that
wider and higher sweep that will take in
all the constructive possibilities of the rich
and scattered materials of our laws, and be
so fortunate as to leave. upon the massive
imposing, ever advancing, but imperishable
structure of our Jurisprudence, some visible
imprint, some embodied memorial of his
genius us well as OF his labors"